Actress Ranjana Nachiyar quits TVK, slams Vijay

CHENNAI: Renowned actress and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) state executive member Ranjana Nachiyar has resigned from the party and joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Soon after joining the DMK, she strongly criticised TVK chief Vijay.

Ranjana said there is no freedom of opinion in TVK. She alleged that even district leaders are not heard and that the party is run in an authoritarian manner by a few individuals.

She also accused Vijay of disrespecting women. According to her, party leaders behaved disrespectfully towards women and made insulting remarks on stage during Women’s Day events.

Responding to Vijay’s remarks dismissing personal matters as “not important,” Ranjana questioned him, asking, “What is not important?Your wife or your marriage?”

She further said that the leadership in TVK is not approachable and does not listen to party workers.

"Vijay had earlier promised to bring a different style of politics. He had also said he was inspired by M G Ramachandran. People expected him to follow MGR’s style of leadership. MGR used to meet people and interact with them. However, Vijay stays inside a car and just waves. This is not what we expected,” she said.

Ranjana added that she joined the DMK because it is a responsible political party.

Before joining TVK, she was with the BJP for eight years and served as the state secretary of its arts and cultural wing.

She had quit the BJP in February last year citing differences over issues such as Hindi imposition, opposition to Dravidian ideology, and the continued neglect of Tamil Nadu.

TVK leaders, however, said they do not wish to give importance to her resignation.